1. Field of the Invention
The invention in general relates to structural supporting members, and particularly to a snubber for limiting movement of a machinery foundation.
2. Background Information
Machinery such as turbines, generators, gearing, and the like, used in ocean going vessels, are generally mounted on a foundation, sometimes known as a subbase, with the foundation in turn being mounted on a support structure such as a girder or beam arrangement.
In addition to the use of individual mounting members which isolate the foundation from the supporting structure, the mounting arrangement may also include a plurality of snubber members which serve to limit amplitude movements during acceleration, deceleration or under shock conditions.
One common type of foundation which may be found on ocean going vessels is made up a plurality of legs or segments, each having the general form of a hollow box beam and fabricated from a metal such as steel. Installation of each snubber used involves the cutting away of a portion of the base of the foundation to accommodate the snubber parts.
In order to reduce the weight of the foundation while still maintaining sufficient load bearing capabilities, composite materials have been proposed for use as the foundation. Composite materials, however, are more sensitive to stress concentrations than steel and a removal of a relatively large amount of material in the base to accommodate snubber parts would cause various stresses leading to an unacceptable decrease in the composite foundation load bearing capability.
The present invention provides for a snubber arrangement for a composite foundation which eliminates the requirement for penetrating the base of the foundation to accommodate snubber parts, thereby eliminating detrimental stresses which would normally be caused by the aperture.